Wall St. Firm Will Settle Sex Bias Suit New York Times Published: April 25, 2007 By Jenny Anderson ….Morgan Stanley agreed to pay at least $46 million to settle a class-action suit filed by eight current and former female brokers who contended that they were discriminated against in how they were trained, promoted and paid… The settlement is intended to overhaul the way accounts are distributed in the firm’s retail branches – a practice that determined, the women said, their opportunities for pay and advancement. The distribution system, they argued, favored the men who had long dominated the brokerage business. “It kind of institutionalizes historical bias from the freewheeling wild west days,” saidCyrus Mehri, one of the lawyers who represented the eight plaintiffs named in the suit and the class of 2,700 women. Under the settlement, Morgan Stanley agreed to make changes in the way new accounts are distributed among brokers. As a result, pay for its 2,700 female brokers will increase at least $16 million, according to an estimate in the settlement…. The settlement, Mr. Mehri said, “is a tremendous first step in terms of changing the practice on Wall Street with regard to how female financial brokers are treated.”… The settlement estimates that Morgan Stanley will pay about $7.5 million to put into effect a number of changes, including the hiring of two industrial psychologists and an independent monitor to evaluate how the settlement is applied. The psychologists are charged with the task of understanding complex issues, like how partnerships are formed among brokers and how women can secure more accounts from departing brokers. |
